A Whale Of An Adventure: Circo Rum Ba Ba At Settle Stories Festival

Circo Rum Ba Ba's imaginative vision is left field in conception and extraordinary in practice; 'All-female circus troupe' unreasonably circumscribes the natural invention, agility and linguistic skills of these artisans of the promenade performance.

A look at Circo's 'CV' of 'Acts' reveals an astonishing, and colourful, range of possibilities, involving varying degrees of acrobatic ingenuity and intricacy. Taking their 'stage' with them, the company re-invent the past and the present tangentially, in frenetic, sometimes avant-garde, parody. The strange props - think stick insects on stilts, snow queen chariots, bearded ladies and Valkyrie Vikings - lend highly visual comedy to circus pastiche.

And Circo's biggest prop of all - a fifty foot inflatable whale - will be making its nautical way up the rivers and canals of England, to make an appearance at the Settle Stories Festival in April. Family entertainment at its most direct, the whale will welcome all comers into its capacious belly, for tales of shipwrecked pirates and mermaid siren songs.

Newly-dry Winnie Elliot, Circo's organiser and performer, told us more about what fires her vocational engine in a recent interview:

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement ?

Founding, running and performing with two successful theatre companies.

What inspires your creativity ?

Private Eye.

Give one piece of advice to your younger self

Eat your green vegetables.

Who is your artistic idol and why ?

Joan Littlewood. She revolutionised theatre in this country.

What is your key goal with your artistic practice ?

To reach a wider, international audience.

What are the stakes ? What happens if you fail ?

We’ll keep on trying.

If you could be any literary character, who would you be and why ?

Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials. Fearless.

What would your epitaph say ?

She had such a laugh and then she died.

The Whale - Circo Rum Ba Ba, Settle Market Place, 7th April.
www.settlestories.org.uk/festival